UNSG's top envoy on Myanmar says Rohingyas speak about denial of education opportunities

As of May 26, there are now over one million Internally Displaced persons IDPs across Myanmar, she said.Earlier this month, Stphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told reporters at the daily press briefing that nearly 40,000 people from Myanmar are currently displaced in neighbouring India and Thailand.Dujarric said that according to UN humanitarian colleagues, the number of internally displaced men, women and children in Myanmar had exceeded one million.This includes some 700,000 people displaced by fighting and insecurity since the military takeover in February last year.

UN chief's top envoy on Myanmar on Monday said that in her recent consultation with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, Malaysia and India, they speak about how they continue to be denied opportunities for education in host countries and fear becoming a lost generation.

Noeleen Heyzer, the Special Envoy of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Myanmar, thanked the Government of Bangladesh and host communities in particular for the generosity towards Rohingya refugees, who were forcibly uprooted from their homes almost five years ago.

"In my recent consultation with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, Malaysia and India, Rohingya youth told me how they continue to be denied opportunities for education in host countries and fear becoming a lost generation," she said during a General Assembly informal meeting of the plenary.

''While they are grateful for the assistance they have received, they feel they have become dependent on donor funds to merely exist. They believe that without education they will never achieve their dreams or even become self-reliant," Heyzer said.

According to the UN official, 14.4 million people, or one-quarter of the entire population of Myanmar urgently require humanitarian assistance.

While conflict has plagued Myanmar's border states for decades, the political crisis unleashed on February 1, 2021 has opened new frontlines that had long been at peace.

"More than half of the 700,000 people who have been internally displaced since the crisis began come from the central Bamar region. As of May 26, there are now over one million Internally Displaced persons (IDPs) across Myanmar," she said.

Earlier this month, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told reporters at the daily press briefing that nearly 40,000 people from Myanmar are currently displaced in neighbouring India and Thailand.

Dujarric said that according to UN humanitarian colleagues, the number of internally displaced men, women and children in Myanmar had exceeded one million.

"This includes some 700,000 people displaced by fighting and insecurity since the military takeover in February last year. In addition, some nearly 40,000 people from Myanmar are currently displaced in neighbouring India and Thailand," he said.

Heyzer said that Rohingya refugee women have shared with her the ways in which prolonged displacement in the camps has affected their daily lives – how they are forced to stay in their shelters to care for their families and to avoid the insecurity in camps; and the limited opportunities available to them for skill building and livelihoods.

"In addition, they mentioned that shops and community-run learning centres in the camp have been closed down. Movement restrictions have an impact on daily life and create additional difficulties in accessing emergency medical services," Heyzer said.

The UN official said that throughout the region, the continued lack of legal status puts Rohingya at risk of arrest, prolonged detention and even, in some cases, deportation.

"In spite of these risks, Rohingya continue to take dangerous journeys for the hope of survival, family reunification and a better future. Most are exploited and subjected to more violence along their journeys and transnational criminal networks are preying on the vulnerability of the Rohingya community," Heyzer said.

She said while conditions in Myanmar are currently not conducive to the repatriation of Rohingya refugees, there are important steps that can be taken in Rakhine State itself to create the political, social and economic environment that will support sustainable return.

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